AUTHOR'S NOTE: While reading Tarot and the Archetypal Journey, Sallie Nichol's remarkable Jungian treatise on the tarot, I came across the vivid phrase "impaled on words" to denote the inability of prose to capture the elusive nature of the Fool, a failing that might be ascribed less urgently to the rest of the allegorical images. … Continue reading “Impaled on Words”
The “Weekly Keynote” High-Focus Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The aim of this spread is to highlight the one day during an upcoming week that has the most potential to be momentous in some way. It uses two decks (one for the 7-day baseline row and the other for the three-card daily reading); seven dominoes of the appropriate denomination are also required. … Continue reading The “Weekly Keynote” High-Focus Reading
“. . . By Any Other Name . . .”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Current divination culture shuns as unethical any attempt to forecast the death of an individual, even when it is clearly imminent due to a terminal illness. (After all, it doesn't make sense for amateurs to overstep the legal and professional bounds of a medical diagnosis.) The final "moment of truth" is usually the … Continue reading “. . . By Any Other Name . . .”
“Name Your Poison”
(For lovers of useless minutiae, June 8 is "Name Your Poison Day.") AUTHOR'S NOTE: Among modern tarot enthusiasts there exists a fundamental dispute regarding proper use of the cards that has been smoldering since the Jung-besotted 1970s. It typically surfaces in the divide between those who believe that a tarot deck should be employed solely … Continue reading “Name Your Poison”
Lenormand Houses: “Lights Are On But Nobody’s Home”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the song of the title, bluesman Albert Collins complains of a wife who is clueless about her devoted husband's faithfulness toward her and is always doubting him without proof. Her eyes are open ("lights are on") but her head seems to be empty of reason ("nobody's home"). Some Lenormand readers experience an … Continue reading Lenormand Houses: “Lights Are On But Nobody’s Home”
The Actors and the Plot: The Dramatis Personae of the Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've always felt that the purpose of working with the tarot on a regular basis is to acquire wisdom and thus to become more savvy day-by-day. Our daily experiences are often a product of our mental state, except to the extent that we're in thrall to the agenda of someone else, either individually … Continue reading The Actors and the Plot: The Dramatis Personae of the Tarot
A “Lenormand Lost & Found” Missing-Person Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Continuing to follow up on my recent missing-person "cold case," I ran my Lenormand lost & found spread to see if it tells me anything new. The short answer is "No." It doesn't turn over any new ground but it offers some encouragement. For this reading I chose the "unlucky" Jack of Clubs … Continue reading A “Lenormand Lost & Found” Missing-Person Reading
The Symbols Behind the Curtain
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Question of the Day - What do you feed a starving archetype? I pulled another quote from Sallie Nichol's Tarot and the Archetypal Journey that inspired this essay. In discussing the Empress and the Emperor, she observes that we can become like "puppets in an archetypal drama, manipulated by giant figures operating above … Continue reading The Symbols Behind the Curtain
The “Trickle-Down” Theory of Tableau Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Any tableau-style layout in the Lenormand system of divination (that is, one with a vertical as well as a horizontal axis) entails consideration of the direction of flow. Because of the way the original Game of Hope play proceeded (from the Rider at the top left to the Cross at the bottom right), … Continue reading The “Trickle-Down” Theory of Tableau Reading
An Inconvenient Sidekick
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Several times in the past I've come across arrangements of the 22 trump cards (aka "Major Arcana") in which the Fool is set apart from the other 21 cards. Most often it is placed above the rest, but my personal preference is to lay it adjacent to but separate from the middle row … Continue reading An Inconvenient Sidekick
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 